PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE INNOVATION ACCELERATOR FUND OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre is the largest cancer centre in Canada and one of the top five cancer research centres in the world. Scientists and clinicians at Princess Margaret, frequently translate their scientific discoveries and new understanding of cancer biology into novel treatments and technology that improve the lives of patients with cancer.

Challenges exist in ensuring that BREAKTHROUGH RESEARCH IS TRANSLATED FROM THE BENCH TO THE BEDSIDE. One such challenge lies in advancing early-stage research to a point where its commercial applicability has been demonstrated, and it becomes an attractive investment for third parties. The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre’s Innovation Acceleration Fund (IAF) has been established to overcome this barrier to research translation. Its objective is to accelerate research discoveries to a point where their commercial applicability can be confirmed, thus enabling the first steps towards their utility. A maximum of $250,000 is available per proposal.

BACKGROUND

Although research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre produces many new discoveries and inventions that have the potential to improve health care, turning those ideas into deliverable products can prove extremely difficult.

Translational research is required, even for the most promising research, to provide verification and proof-of-concept data to a partner before they are prepared to bear the risk(s) associated with the next stages of development.

The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre’s Innovation Acceleration Fund (IAF) has been established to move innovative research with promising commercial potential along the path towards commercialization. A maximum of $250,000 per proposal is made available by the IAF.

Translational research activities that can be undertaken via the IAF include, but are not limited to:

• Prototype development

• Generation of in-vivo data

• Reduction to practice

• Proof-of-concept studies

• Clinical demonstration

• Scale up required for clinical phase work

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the IAF is to support the acceleration of research from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre towards commercialization, in order to deliver advanced health care.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for the IAF, the lead applicant must be both the principal inventor and hold an appointment with Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Please refer here for further details on eligibility criteria.